The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring single phase fluid flow, and particularly gas flow from producing wells. The present practice is to use an orifice meter for measuring the gas flow from a producing well to monitor the well performance. While orifice meters are satisfactory, they do present several problems in installation and maintenance. It is obvious that to install the orifice meter, the well must be shut-in to break the production line and install the orifice plate. Likewise, if any maintenance is required, it is necessary to shut-in the well. While shutting in a gas well can be accomplished, production is lost and it requires the observance of suitable safety precautions.
The above referenced patent discloses a dynamic pressure transducer which can be used for measuring liquid flow in a pipe having slug flow. In particular, the patent discloses measuring the dynamic pressure fluctuations in the pipe, taking the root mean square of the dynamic pressure signal and integrating it over a specific time interval to obtain liquid flow in the pipe. This method has been successful in measuring liquid production from gas lift wells but has not previously been adapted to measuring single phase flow and particularly, the flow from a gas well.